New Bylaw & Programs

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August 2020 Issue:

Face Coverings Bylaw

by Monty Killoh - mkilloh@stalbert.ca

For the safety and protection of our community, on August 4, 2020, St. Albert City Council passed the Face Coverings Bylaw, which requires face coverings to be worn in all indoor public places within St. Albert including City facilities, retail locations, on St. Albert transit as well as vehicles for hire.

Indoor public places includes any property accessible by the public (publicly or privately owned). This includes locations such as:

Retail stores
Restaurants
Entertainment venues
Recreation centres
Transit shelters (semi-enclosed and enclosed)
Vehicles for hire

This does not include a school or other educational institution, a hospital or other health care facility, or a child care facility.

Face coverings must be worn by everyone, unless one of the following exceptions applies (proof is NOT required if someone has an exception):

Children under 10 years of age
People who cannot put on, use or remove a face covering without assistance
People who are unable to wear a face covering due to a mental or physical condition, disability or limitations or because of one of the grounds on which discrimination is prohibited under the Alberta Human Rights Act
People who are eating or drinking while seated in a designated food and drink seating area or as part of a religious or spiritual ceremony
Those engaged in swimming or other water activities, or engaged in physical exercise or other physical activities, within designated areas
People providing or receiving care or assistance for a mental or physical condition, disability or limitation and a face covering would hinder providing or receiving that caregiving or assistance
People providing or receiving a service that requires personal consultation if that activity occurs in a closed office or meeting room and all participants in the personal consultation at all times maintain physical separation of at least 2 metres from each other
A participant in a dance, theatrical or musical public performance, if all participants in the performance maintain at least 2 metres physical distance from each other and do not enter the area where the public is viewing the performance
A transit operator, if barriers are in place to create physical distancing between the transit operator and passengers in the transit vehicle

The City of St. Albert has a new Information Toolkit for Businesses to help navigate these new rules. The toolkit includes an extensive FAQ about the new rules, messaging to use with customers, a list of sources for personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as signage that can be printed/posted for customers.

For more information about face coverings, please visit the City's webpage, or contact Nicole Pearson from St. Albert's Economic Development Department at: 780-459-1630 or npearson@stalbert.ca.

New Business Visitation Plan

by Nicole Pearson - npearson@stalbert.ca

In an effort to enhance communication between City of St. Albert staff and the business community, a new Business Visitation Program has been launched to introduce business owners and managers to a single point of contact, create opportunities to improve processes, and discuss how the City can facilitate retention and growth.

The City recognizes the value existing business bring to the community by investing in facilities, creating jobs, and providing a support network that anchors the local economy.

The program is part of our broader business retention initiatives and is an outcome of the business retention and expansion study we completed earlier this year.

The objectives of the program are to:

Express our gratitude to businesses that have chosen to establish operations in St. Albert;
Meet with owners and operators to learn about business operation, future plans, business issues, problems and barriers to business operation within the City of St. Albert;
Assist the Economic Development department with establishing longer term economic and community development priorities by gathering information that will help improve competitiveness, enhance infrastructure, and increase and develop viable local export markets;
Connect local companies with resources for growth and networking opportunities; and
Discuss services and resources available within the government (Municipality, Regional, Provincial and/or Federal).

If your business would like to participate in our Business Visitation Program, please send an email to Nicole Pearson at npearson@stalbert.ca.

Business Licensing Goes Online

by Monty Killoh - mkilloh@stalbert.ca

Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of City of St. Albert facilities, Business Licensing has been accepting applications exclusively through email, and over 99% of related transactions have taken place through the City's online eCommerce portal or through online banking platforms.

To continue this trend of offering a safer means to do business remotely and improve customer service, Business Licensing will soon be implementing an online platform that will allow for clients to apply for Business Licences through the City's website, and will also allow existing licence holders to edit and amend their Business Licence account information through the platform.

This new platform will tie-in to the existing "MyCity" program that residents can already use to access their municipal accounts online, including utilities, taxation and dog licensing accounts. Business Licence accounts can already be linked to MyCity, which allows licence holders to sign-up for eBilling to receive all future Business Licence bills/invoices by email.

A MyCity account can be created through the following link: https://my.stalbert.ca/. Once the account has been created (or once you have logged-in to an existing MyCity account), a Business Licence account can be linked by providing the account number and access code from a previous renewal invoice.

Once the account has been linked, you will be able to sign-up for eBilling and access basic information from your account, including transaction history and renewal invoices from previous years.

If you have any questions about Business Licensing online, eBilling or MyCity, or need assistance in signing up for these services, please contact Monty Killoh, Business Licence Inspector at 780-459-1529 or mkilloh@stalbert.ca.

Business Spotlight On... Pearson's Your Independent Grocer

by Nicole Pearson - npearson@stalbert.ca

Pearson's Your Independent Grocer

#100 - 925 St. Albert Trail

780-544-8003

After working in the grocery business for years, Travis and Sierra Pearson decided it was time to open their own grocery store. Upon learning about St. Albert, and that there was limited grocery service on the north side, the decision to open a store here made sense. They moved to the region, from British Columbia, and are incredibly happy they did.

“We could not have asked for a better community; the support has been incredible,” said Travis.

Pearson’s Your Independent Grocer opened on July 10 on St. Albert Trail in Erin Ridge. Since opening, Travis has received messages daily from customers letting him know about how happy they are to have the store in St. Albert and letting him know about the excellent customer service they received from his staff.

Travis was impressed with the quality of employees he was able to hire, especially considering that many of them are 16 to 19 year-olds without work experience.

“They are naturally good at customer service,” Travis explained. “For many it is their first job but they know to smile and engage with customers and they are hardworking.”

Pearson’s Your Independent Grocer was originally slated to open in March but was delayed by about a month due to weather. Then COVID hit which delayed them a couple months more from opening. Travis initially wasn’t sure how he would hire staff with COVID. Generally, they do hiring fairs in store but decided to host it in the parking lot to allow for physical distancing. When Travis arrived at the store a couple hours prior to the fair starting, he was surprised to see people in line already. They had over 300 people attend the fair.

“We had so many good applicants, it was hard to decide. We ended up on hiring 150 people which was more than we planned but wanted to support the community,” Travis explained.

The Pearsons believe in supporting the community. Through their Give a Little, Help a Lot campaign, the store raised $5,000 in the first two and a half weeks that they were open and Travis and Sierra matched that amount. The money is being donated to the St. Albert Food Bank and Community Village. They have also been able to donate 275 bags so far to the local food bank.

As an independently owned local company, Pearson’s Independent Grocer also supports the community by contributing to the local economy by stocking foods from companies that are local. Pearson’s currently carries products from twelve Alberta vendors including four from St. Albert – Souptacular, Untamed Feast, Blue Kettle Speciality Foods and DaVinci Gelato.

The Pearsons enjoy interacting with their customers on Facebook and Instagram and find it is a great way to engage with the community. They can be reached on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pearsonsyig/ or you can visit them in store at #100-925 St. Albert Trail.

The Spotlight on Business is a monthly feature wherein we highlight a local business and learn more about what they do and how they positively contribute to the identity and economy of St. Albert. If you, or someone you know, would like to be featured in a future issue, please contact npearson@stalbert.ca with a brief description of the organization.